Photos and review by Jennie Book
@jenniebookphotography

Thirty-six years after forming in Los Angeles, alternative rock vets Failure returned home on October 30 for a sold out night at the Belasco, delivering 80 minutes of intense guitars and melodies that have earned the band a fiercely devoted following for all these decades.

The artist quannnic opened the night, and their blend of shoegaze, (“zoomergaze”), grunge, and distorted alternative rock proved to be a natural complement to Failure, showing how far the band’s influence stretches. To that point, even though Failure bandmates Ken Andrews, Greg Edwards, and Kellii Scott didn’t enjoy some of the same commercial success on the radio that their 90s contemporaries did, many other bands through the years have talked about the effect Failure had on them and how they wouldn’t be where they are today without that influence.

Failure came on at 9 and opened with “Crash Test Delayed,” from their new album Location Lost, then jumped into “Saturday Savior” and “Sergeant Politeness” from 1996’s Fantastic Planet. The opening notes of “Saturday Savior” drew a hyped reaction from the crowd, with the momentum carrying straight into the rest of the set. The audience was definitely there to celebrate the whole catalog.

The confines of the Belasco really suited Failure’s music. Andrews’s vocals were strong, cutting through the layers of distortion without losing quality. Edwards’s guitar and bass supplied swirling texture, while Scott’s forceful, intricate drumming gave the songs a physical presence that filled the room and beyond.

A three-song trip into the band’s 1992 debut Comfort followed, with “Princess,” “Macaque,” and “Screen Man” showcasing the rawer, more aggressive side of their early material. “Undone,” from Magnified, and the expansive “Counterfeit Sky,” from 2015’s The Heart Is a Monster, further demonstrated how seamlessly the band can move between different periods of its career.

The newer material held its own and sounded great. “A Way Down,” from Location Lost, introduced a darker, post-punk-influenced atmosphere, and with Fantastic Planet celebrating its 30th anniversary, the album dominated the latter part of the evening. “Solaris,” “Smoking Umbrellas,” and “The Nurse Who Loved Me” led into the sprawling “Another Space Song,” each demonstrating the band’s ability to balance melody with heavy instrument textures.

Failure left and came back gain for a three-song encore starting with “Headstand” from Wild Type Droid, and then the opening of “Stuck on You” led to one of the night’s biggest audience responses, with the whole Belasco joining Andrews for a full-room singalong. The evening concluded with “Heliotropic,” with its slow-building intensity providing a dramatic finish.

For a band whose initial career ended in 1997, Failure’s longevity is amazing. Their reunion in 2014 could have become a nostalgia exercise, but four subsequent studio albums have demonstrated their great lasting power and how good they are at continuing to bring fresh songs to their fans. It was great to see lots of generations represented at the Belasco, which is probably the truest way to gauge a band’s realest success.

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